CNN News - Libya's new leaders declare liberation, Oct 23, 2011

Children play on a tank that belonged to the Gadhafi regime in Misrata, Libya, on Sunday.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: Libyans wave flags, fire machine guns in celebration
• "Libyan lands have now been completely liberated," the NTC's vice chairman says
• Mustafa Jalil, the NTC's chairman, calls on Libyans to be patient and tolerant
• "Freedom is great and it's got a great price," a Libyan military official says

Benghazi, Libya (CNN) -- Libya's interim leaders declared the nation's freedom Sunday, ushering in a new era after the death of longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi.

"Libyan lands have now been completely liberated," said Abdul Hafiz Ghoga, vice chairman of Libya's National Transitional Council.

Cheering crowds packed a central square in Benghazi Sunday afternoon for a ceremony that leaders said formally marked victory after eight months of fighting.

"We are now united. We have become brothers in love," said Mustafa Jalil, the council's chairman.

He called on Libyans to have "honesty, patience and tolerance" as the nation moves toward reconciliation.

The location of Sunday's ceremony was significant. Uprisings against Gadhafi's regime began in Benghazi in February.

Audience members carried signs, waved flags and batted around balloons. As leaders spoke, the sound of celebratory machine-gun fire filled the air.